


Lost and Found

by Octowlpus



Category: PAYDAY (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Romantic Soulmates, Self-Indulgent, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, it's not super happy but it's not very violent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-10
Updated: 2018-06-10
Packaged: 2019-05-20 18:40:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14899875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Octowlpus/pseuds/Octowlpus
Summary: As Wolf is getting used to the idea that he'll probably never find his soulmate, he has the most unexpected encounter when trying to join a particular heist crew...





	Lost and Found

**Author's Note:**

> I just really love Wolf/Hox guys
> 
> Classic "First words your soulmate says to you" AU. This is my first fic, so it's probably not that great, haha

**and who's this asshole**

Wolf absent-mindedly glanced at the words before buttoning down his shirt. He knew them by heart, of course, but sometimes, the thin black cursive text on his waist seemed to stick out like a sore thumb. A little reminder of loneliness, of something missing.

It's not like he wasn't used to it. Being the only child with a soul mark that wasn't in his native language taught him pretty quickly just how much of a "weirdo" he was. It got even worse when he, and eventually, everyone else, understood what the words meant. Getting linked to someone that first refers to you as a butthole, lovely choice of fate. His only consolation was to not be one of those poor souls that were marked with a "Hey" and spent their lives monitoring every social interaction.

At least his was easy. It was a foreigner, and it was an asshole. Easy.

He grabbed his suit jacket and a sports bag of various tools and devices before leaving his small hotel room. The man on the phone told him to be there, be quick, and be punctual. Wasn't exactly the kind of voice you said "no" to easily, no matter how distorted it was.

Wasn't exactly the kind of job you said "yes" to easily, either.

Of course, he'd still have to pass the little interview the man on the phone had planned for him, but... It still was something to process. As he arrived at the bus station, bubbles of doubt were starting to pop in his head. Was it really the time ? Was he ready to finally abandon everything ? Sure, there was the bankruptcy, leaving his wife and moving here... but after this one, if he took this job, there'd be no turning back now. The job would change everything. He could still stop this, go back to Sweden, see his family...

His jaw clenched, briefly. Yeah, family. Family he never should've had in the first place. All because Ella needed someone, with her soulmate dead, she couldn't provide for her kid, and what better than finding a lonely, mate-less, soon to be royally fu-

_Herregud, you're thinking about this again._

He relaxed the hands he didn't notice had turned to fists and pretended to care about the brightly-colored ads on the road. No, no turning back. It seemed like the right thing to do. 

The bus finally arrived at the designated stop and he lazily jumped off, still lost in thought. The instructions given by the voice from this point on were a bit cryptic, but eventually led him to what looked like an abandoned clothing store. He rang the doorbell 3 times and waited. 

A little while after, a tall man in a expensive-looking linen suit opened the door, gesturing him inside. After a long hallway and a couple turns, they arrived at what Wolf assumed to be the back of the shop as he watched the man unlock what seemed to be the world's most out of place security door.

To his surprise, behind that door was a rather welcoming apartment. He could only see a small kitchen area and a living room, but the place seemed rather well-equiped. There seemed to be no windows, and a faint smell of fresh paint was lingering. The man put the keys back in his pocket and gestured Wolf inside, pulling a little table and two chairs closer. He sat down and pulled a little notebook and pen from his vest, then stared at Wolf, who was still standing, hand clenching his sports bag. 

"Sit down"

He sat down nervously, the bag making a noticeable metallic thud as he dropped it on the ground.

"The name's Dallas. Yours ?"

"Um.. Ulf. Ulf An-"

The man - Dallas - raised his hand.

"Jesus, kid, I'm not talking about that one. Big rule in our line of work : don't let anyone know shit about you. I'm talking about what you want us to call you."

Oh damn. Obviously. The man on the phone had a nickname, of course, but he hadn't really thought of having one himself. Should've been obvious. Stupid.

"Uhh... Wolf, I think"

Dallas wrote it down, barely raising an eyebrow.

"Alright, Wolf. Bain told me he noticed you after a little ATM wreckage you did in our lovely city. Nice use of that saw, although I've never seen one cut through metal and leave cuts this clean."

"T-Thanks. I perfected the discs myself."

"Really ? Hope they're not as fragile as the regular ones. From what I've heard, it's not the only heisting tool you tried to upgrade on your own, isn't it ?"

"No, actually, it's-I- I did a little research, about what people use to open safes and doors, and I-"

There suddenly was the sound of rattling keys outside, and the locks started to click as they both turned to the door. Dallas immediately stood and reached into his vest to grab a little pistol. Wolf felt petrified. _Haven't even joined a crew yet and already I might get shot ?_

The door slammed open and revealed another man in a suit, a white shopping bag in his hand, about to enter nonchalantly the apartment before noticing Dallas. He jumped and instinctively raised a hand to his pocket.

"Dallas ??"

"Fucking hell, Hoxton" , he said, lowering his gun, "ever heard of knocking ?"

"Oh sorry, didn't know I had to knock before entering a fucking safehouse !"

"I could've shot you !"

"Then maybe you should learn not to expect a fucking cop behind every door !"

The new man turned his head, suddenly noticing Wolf's presence in the room.

"And who's this asshole ?"

 

Wolf's entire body felt like it was made of ice. The man got closer, tearing through Wolf's personal space.

He couldn't have said that.

"What, are you fucking mute ?"

This couldn't be it.

Couldn't be these exact words, at this exact time.

Before he could fully process things, Wolf felt the british-sounding man's patience quickly running out and his brain went on auto-pilot

"I- uh... Wolf. I'm Wolf."

The man before him - how did Dallas call him ? Hoxborn ? - suddenly became very pale. A couple of very thick and uncomfortable seconds of silence passed when suddenly, Wolf was grabbed by his shirt's collar and slammed against the nearest wall.

The man - Hoxton, I think his name was Hoxton - was livid, but his eyes were filled with confusion and rage. He held Wolf tight against the wall, his slim fingers pulling his shirt with such force that he was starting to choke. He should move, should fight ack, do _something_ , but everything seemed clouded in incomprehension. Wolf could barely hear Dallas yelling, his whole attention fixed on the face before him, a face filled with so many conflicting emotions, a face he couldn't read, and when the man started shouting, he couldn't even make sense of his words.

"Why the fuck did you say that ?? Who told you to say that ?"

"Hoxton, what the fuck are you doing ?"

"Don't come any fucking close, Dallas ! Did you tell him to say this ?"

"What the fuck are you talking about, man ?"

"Is this supposd to be a fucking joke ? Is that it ? Who told you to say that shit to me ?"

"Hoxton, you're choking him, let him go !"

The hand suddenly let go of him and Wolf dropped on the floor, gasping for air.

"Hoxton, talk to me".

Through his stupor and pain, Wolf almost didn't feel the hand on his arm lifting him up, the chair he almost collapsed on. Some distant screaming, the muffled sound of a slammed door, then silence.

 

\---

 

Hoxton slammed the door of the bathroom behind him, locked it and almost collapsed against the frame.

No way.

No fucking way.

Had to be a prank from one of the other guys, or even Bain. No fucking way he was going to meet his soulmate in a place like this.

They had to see his soul mark while he was changing his clothes, or while they were patching themselves up, and thought of it and-

There was just no way. Yet with a shitty mark like his, it had to be it. Was too fucking specific of a sentence to just be dropped casually.

Only one way to be sure. He pulled himself together and faced the bathroom mirror, catching a glimpse of his face. He looked like he'd seen a ghost, and hell, that wasn't so far off.

Slowly, he unbuttoned his shirt and threw it on the floor. There it was, same old shitty mark on his waist. Fucking blue line of scrawly handwriting, forming one of the dumbest sentences he'd ever heard in his entire life.

**i uh wolf i'm wolf**

So out of place in any normal conversation and so stupid. It had to be it. Had it ? No, fuck,  no way he was going to meet his soulmate in such a shitty place at such a shitty ti-

The mark, slowly, was starting to fade.

Ice ran through his veins and, with trembling knees, he sat on the edge of the bathtub.

Oh no, this can't be it...

It was his soulmate. Here, in this place.

_And I just slammed and fucking choked him against a wall._

He buried his face in his hands, his mind still furiously running. Without a doubt, this was the dumbest thing he'd done in his entire life. You only get one soulmate, one shot, and he had to go and assault him not even a minute after meeting him. _Fuck, I even called him an asshole before that_. God. 

Before he even began to process this mess, there was a gentle knock on the door.

Against what should be the reasonable decision, something in him was urging him to open the door. Well, given the last five minutes, it couldn't be the worst decision of the day. 

Behind was, of course, _him_. Looking down at his shoes, a hand massaging his neck, his face a cute shade of red. The man simply slid inside and closed the door behind him without looking up.

 

The tension in the air was tangible. What was anyone supposed to say after all of this mess ? Granted it was entirely his fault and he should apologize first, but- oh fuck he's going to say something.

"So...hello ?"

Hoxton almost laughed. Well, this was going to be fantastic.

"Hi."

Another thick cloud of silence.

"Look, about all that bullshit, I'm-I'm sorry, I flipped out like a maniac-"

"It's...it's ok. I can understand."

He snickered. "Well, at least I guess you know what you're in for. Although I never expected I'd be suck a fucking dickbag to you. Not on purpose."

The man had a soft smile and moved to sit on the edge of the bathtub. "Well, I supposed that everyone that wants to work this kind of job is a little bit fucked up. Didn't expect this either..."

Now that he was sitting, Hoxton could take a little more time to look at him, with a better view than the blinding rage from before. He had something rather cute about him, not just in terms of beauty but the general softness of his attitude, how vulnerable he looked and had just been. Although his comment was a bit concerning. Surely, after the whole mess that happened, Hoxton had no right to be offended, but that was a strange choice of expression. The man had a little bit of a foreign accent, so perhaps he didn't fully mean, but perhaps he's not playing for the Stable Member of Society team either, despite his whole demeanor. 

_Perfect, isn't it ? At least maybe together you can play with a full deck of cards._

He sighed and moved to sit down next to Wolf, who jumped slightly as their knees bumped together. Oh well, he couldn't blame the man. 

Minutes passed. Was there something he was supposed to do ? Something to say, to apologize again ? It probably wouldn't be very wise to touch him right now, at any rate, but they surely weren't going to spend this entire day in a closed bathroom with Dallas waiting to lecture him the second they got out. 

He noticed movement on his left side and turned his head. Wolf's hand moved, and rested on his thigh, palm upwards. The man was rather exaggerately looking away, but the little red blush of his ears couldn't be hidden easily. With a soft smile, Hoxton approached his own hand and rested it lightly on top of Wolf's, their fingers intertwining on their own. 

"Well then... welcome to the Payday gang, Mate."

 

 


End file.
